by Oliver Queen
"Good day, Miss Inglewood."
"Good day, Snell," Miss Inglewood replied, turning slightly to cast a brief glance at where surprised Philip stood, an unreadable look in her eyes. "Is Miss Rosebury home? I wish to have a word with her."
"Please come in, I will inform her ladyship of your presence." The butler then noticed Lord Philip for the first time and bowed deeply, "Good Even Your Grace." Miss Inglewood stiffened and Philip heard her shocked gasp, but she did not turn around again, merely lifting up her skirts and hurried into the house as though wild dogs were after her.
"So that is Miss Inglewood," Philip mused out loud, completely ignoring the butler's greeting. "How fortunate." Perhaps her presence would be useful in ferreting out information. He wondered why the girl would be paying a visit to Miss Rosebury, unless the two were somehow in cahoots.
"Your Grace?" Snell asked, a confused look on his wrinkled face as he shut the door behind Philip, leading the way to the morning room.
"Never mind." Philip waved the question away, following the butler. His eyes fell on Miss Inglewood standing at the end of the hallway, arms clenched tightly by her sides. She refused to look at him, simply falling into step beside Snell moving towards the drawing room reserved for guests.
Snell paused at the doorway and turned to Miss Inglewood, "If you will wait here Miss Inglewood, I will have tea sent in shortly. Your Grace, will you please follow me? I shall show you His Lordship's study at once."
Miss Inglewood scrambled past him into the room, and Philip chuckled. He would certainly not pass up the opportunity to interview the sister of his rival. "There's no need for that, Snell. I will be perfectly content to await Lord Rosebury here as well." His tone brooked no arguments and the butler merely nodded and walked away. Philip entered the room, careful to avoid colliding with the furniture that seemed to fill the entire room. Miss Inglewood stood at the far end of the room, probably hoping to get as far away from him as possible.
"I was gravely mistaken in assuming you a maid Miss Inglewood, my apologies for my ignorance."
She stiffened and nodded, finally turning to face him with a resigned look, "It was an honest mistake. I should have corrected the impression at once however, Your Grace."
He clasped his hands behind his back and continued to regard her until she blushed and looked away again. "Why are you here, Miss Inglewood?"
She bristled and clenched her small hands into fists, those huge green eyes shooting sparks of indignation his way, "I believe that is none of your business, Your Grace."
Philip scowled at the woman. No one ever addressed him in such an impertinent manner, least of all a mere slip of a girl who by all rights should be groveling at his feet. "You will answer my question at once woman, or I will not be responsible for my actions," he snarled, taking a menacing step toward her. To his chagrin, she did not cower as he had hoped, merely tossed back her head to be able to stare up at him, a defiant look on her delicate features, mouth parted softly and he felt an inexplicable stirring of desire.
"How dare you insult me and then threaten me all in the space of a few minutes?" she shot back angrily, clearly striving to keep her voice down, "I do not wish to continue this discussion with you, my business is with Miss Rosebury, but perhaps I will come some other time, preferably when you are not present. Good day, Lord Farnsworth." She made to walk past him but he caught her arm and jerked her to a halt.
He leaned down to her, a dangerous glint in his icy blue eyes. "Any business you have with Jane is my business as well for you see, my dear Miss Inglewood, she is my future wife and I am very much aware of your brother sniffing where he is not welcome. Matter of fact, I am quite pleased to have this encounter with you, for you will carry my message to your brother. If he values his life and that of his miserable family, he will keep away from Jane or I will not hesitate to destroy him and all he holds dear, including you. I am not the man to cross, Miss Inglewood. Be warned."
A look of pure terror crossed her pale face and she whimpered, the sound strangely evoking some form of sympathy within him. He released her arm abruptly and she darted past, her footsteps echoing on the stone floor of the hallway. Philip cursed and raked his hand through his dark hair, feeling strangely like the worst sort of cad for frightening the woman so.
"Your Grace?" a soft feminine voice said hesitantly from the door Miss Inglewood had just exited. He turned and saw Jane Rosebury looking at him in something akin to fright on her beautiful perfectly formed face, looking elegant as usual in an emerald green gown that somehow reminded him of the frightened woman who had just left the room. "W-what are you doing here? I thought you were still in London?"
He moved towards her, never taking his eyes off hers, and so he saw the brief flash of guilt in their blue depths. Stopping close to her, her reached for her hand and raised it to his lips. "I heard something rather disconcerting from my agent last night, so I felt it pertinent to come and sort this out for myself."
A troubled frown marred the perfection of her loveliness. "Oh. What d-disconcerting news?" He turned her hand over and lightly traced a finger over the palms, noting the way she seemed to shrink away from his touch as though she found it unpleasant.
He frowned and dropped her hand, taking a step back and crossing to the lit fireplace. "Do not play games with me Jane, I know everything. And you will stop this nonsense at once or the consequences will be dire indeed, you will not want your father to find himself suddenly overrun by his creditors."
Her face drained of every drop of color and she swayed precariously. "I-I I swear to you, he means nothing to me, nothing at all. My affections for you have not changed Your Grace, I give you my word."
"See that you don't. Now go fetch your father, I wish to have a word with him."
"Of course." She turned and hurried away, her mind in turmoil as she wondered how on earth he had come to find out about Edward. She must warn Edward somehow, tell him to keep away until hopefully Philip returned to London.
"He's a beast, a horrible cold-hardhearted beast," she whispered to herself.
CHAPTER 3 A BRAVE ONE
"OOWW!" Lucy shrieked in pain, rubbing furiously at the spot on her hips where the pin had pierced her flesh. She glared down at her sister's dark head, bent over the gown she was pinning in place."You pricked me again. This is the fifth time you have done this. Whatever is the matter with you today?"
Penny flushed and looked up, her mouth stuffed full of pins that she could only mutter some thing intelligible. She reached for the gown once more but Lucy pulled away, pouting.
"No, no more. Especially if you intend to keep using those horrible pins." She muttered crossly, stepping down from the small stool on which she had been standing, moving closer to the looking glass to admire her dress once more. "I honestly do not know why you are so distracted Penny, you have been so moody all morning, not that you are cheerful at any time, but you hardly noticed when I dipped my bread into my tea at breakfast and you always notice that."
Penny carefully took the pins out of her mouth and tried to rise, grimacing at the stab of pain in her right knee from staying in a kneeling position for far too long. The cold weather always awakened the old injury and she had come to dread the coming winter months for this very reason. Glancing at her slipshod attempt at pinning the gown, she sighed. She would have to do it all over, something she most certainly did not relish.
"I'm sorry Lucy," she replied, "I'm just a tad worried about Eddie is all. Have you seen him since breakfast?"
Lucy stared at her reflection, smoothing down the elegant skirt of the white gown, a smile of utter satisfaction at the way the gown accentuated her ivory skin, the soft gathers beneath the bust setting off her bosom to full advantage. "Eddie? He mentioned something about seeing to his traps. So perhaps he has gone there. I say Penny, do you think you can finish making this gown by evening? I want to look splendid for the ball."
Penny sighed again, feeling her head throb with a headache that had
lingered on since her flight from the Rosebury's yesterday. She felt goosebumps creep up her skin at the memory of those cold dead eyes boring down at her, the sardonic evil twist of his lips as he had calmly threatened her and her family. His words had been like a knife piercing her guts, each syllable like a malicious twist driving the knife even deeper. She'd barely managed to keep calm upon reaching home, not wanting to alarm her siblings. But sleep had eluded her, instead she had spent the night tossing and turning, trying to think of a way to save her family from the clutches of the devilish duke.
Penny shivered again, wrapping her arms protectively about herself. Lucy prattled on about about the dress and the ball, completely oblivious to the real danger that lurked in the form of Lord Farnsworth. They would be defenseless indeed if he chose to carry out his threats for she knew that no one would be willing to cross paths with that monster on their behalf. The only solution lay in her plan, persuade Lady Rosebury to shun Edward's affections.
"Are you even listening to a word I've been saying?" Lucy whirled around, hands on hips as she glared at her elder sister.
Oh to be so young and carefree once more, Penny thought, raising a questioning eyebrow at Lucy "Of course I have. You have been saying the exact same thing since you were invited to the ball."
Green eyes narrowed as Lucy debated whether to take Penny's words as a veiled insult or otherwise. "You are being mean today. You know how important this ball is in securing good prospects Penny. Mary told me she heard from Lady Margrove herself that her nephew will be in attendance, hence I must look well turned out if I have hopes of catching his eye."
Penny felt contrite at once. Tonight was Lucy's debut and she would not cast a dull cloud over it. "Forgive my moodiness Lucy. Never fear, I shall finish the dress on time, all that remains is the ribbon at the waist. Come, I need to take out the pins on the left side and do them up again."
Lucy's face broke into a delighted smile and she clapped her hands in delight, eyes sparkling at the thought of the evening's delights. She remounted the fitting stool, barely managing to keep still while Penny took out the pins. "I am so excited! This ball will be talked about for ages, and I certainly cannot wait to meet Lady Margrove's nephew. I hear he is an earl and quite rich. I say Penny, do you suppose the duke will be present? I certainly hope not. Mary says she has met the man and he is absolutely unlikable, the sort to cast a dreadful pall should he put in an appearance. I hear he is quite handsome though..."
Handsome he certainly is, Penny mused as she carried on with the fitting. But he has such a cold, cold heart, probably as black as the hair on his head. An unbidden image of the man swam before her mind's eye, and she remembered marveling at those wide shoulders that seemed as though they would rip the seams of his elegantly tailored coat... and he had nice hands too...even though she'd only noticed when he had grabbed her arm painfully.
The two women heard the front door open and shut, and footsteps echoing on the polished wooden floor. Edward was home.
"Lucy? Penny? Is anyone there?" they heard him call out.
"We're in father's study Eddie" Lucy called out a response. They heard him mount the stairs, two at a time as usual, then his tawny head peeked in the door.
"Hullo. What's this then? He queried, taking in the scene at a glance, his lips parting in an indulgent smile when Lucy twirled about for his benefit.
"Well?" she demanded, eyeballing him expectantly.
He grinned and entered the room to flop down on a nearby chair, a mischievous glint in his eyes. "You look absolutely horrid."
"Edward!" Lucy cried, stamping her foot petulantly. "Stop being so evil."
"Oh for heavens sake, he is only joking" Penny snapped as Lucy's movements caused her to prick a thumb, "Stay still or you will ruin the gown. Where have you been since breakfast Eddie?"
"Out checking traps with the lads, we had a jolly good catch today. Three huge rabbits, I put our share in the sink downstairs by the by"
Penny looked at him for a while, trying to discover if he was telling the truth. She had held off telling him about Lord Farnsworth's threats, knowing he might go off and do something stupid like confronting the duke...or worse. No, better to let him be for now.
"I say, what time's the ball starting?" he asked suddenly, nonchalantly examining his fingernails but Penny knew he was up to something, for he had never indicated any interest in public gatherings of the sort.
She rose up and stared him squarely in the eye. "What are you up to Eddie? Why does the ball interest you of a sudden?"
His eyes widened briefly before it was quickly masked by studied indifference. "I'm merely curious as to the time Penny."
"Pssh, I know you too well Eddie, you cannot lie to me. All I ask is that you conduct yourself properly, there will be no secret meetings, do you get it?"
He rose, towering over her an angry glint in his eye, "I do not like what you are implying. I have given you my word already." he turned on his heel and stomped out of the room. Penny sighed once more. Tonight was going to be difficult.
_.
Penny glanced around Lady Margrave's crowded ballroom, relieved that neither Lady Rosebury or the devilish duke seemed to be present. For the first time since entering the ball, she forced herself to relax, content to sit in the chaperone's corner and watch as Lucy dazzled every single male within smiling distance. The gown overshadowed most of the gowns worn by the other ladies and Penny felt her heart burst with pride in her handiwork. The material had cost a small fortune and had eaten into their housekeeping money, but it had been well worth it, especially as it seemed that Lord Henry, their hostess' nephew was quite smitten.
"Lucy looks lovely tonight." Fiona Ingram, her closest friend and current seating partner remarked, fanning herself with a blue fan. "I imagine you will be seeing much more of Lord Henry after tonight. The poor man looks like he wishes to kiss her feet"
Penny smiled at the plump pretty widow in agreement. "She is lovely, and Lord Henry has hardly looked at the other girls. I almost feel sorry for them though, brings to mind many an unfortunate night in time blessedly past."
Fiona chuckled and leaned towards Penny. "It would seem our little shire has been abuzz. I hear the Duke of Newbridge has arrived in Millcote."
Penny's heart skipped a beat at the mention of the one man she certainly did not wish to hear about. She hesitated, wondering if it would be prudent to tell Fiona about the business with Edward then decided against it. The fewer people who knew of the scandal, the better. "I heard something of the sort too. I wonder what he is doing here."
"Why, of course he is visiting his betrothed. Though I hear, it is something of an arranged marriage, that was contracted right from the time Jane Rosebury was six years old. Something to do with settling a debt, but I'm not quite sure of the exact details. Have you ever met him? After all you lived in London for quite a time."
"No, I've never had the opportunity, neither would I wish to meet him. He is quite rude and evil...at least that is what I have heard."
Fiona shot her a questioning look, but mercifully was cut off by the sounds of the song coming to an end. There was a polite applause, as the dancers made their way to the refreshment stands. There was a brief lull in the level of noise as two late comers arrived, but from her position in the far corner she could not see who they were. Then she spotted Lucy hurrying towards her, Lord Henry in tow.
"The Duke and Lady Rosebury are here!" she exclaimed in hushed tones, looking particularly delighted at the thought.
Color drained from Penny's face on hearing Lucy's announcement. Oh dear god! Edward was here too and if the two rivals should meet, there was no telling what might happen. Fiona noticed her pale complextion and placed a worried hand on her arm.
"Are you alright dear? You have gone quite pale." she asked gently.
"Shall I get you something to drink Miss Ingleworth?" Lord Henry offered, exchanging a puzzled look with Lucy.
Penny shook her head and gathered
her wits about her. With any luck the evening would pass without the two meeting or even she having to meet him again. "I'm quite all right, thank you Henry, a glass of lemonade will be welcome"
He nodded and hurried off to fetch the beverage, Lucy trailing after him. Penny took a deep breath and summoned a reassuring smile at Fiona. "I must have eaten something that does not agree with me. But it is no matter" She looked towards the door, the crowd having thinned a bit as people streamed into the lit garden. To her horror, she saw him looking in her direction too, and a wicked smile curved his lips when their eyes met. She blushed and looked away quickly, suddenly struck with the need to go home.
"Oh my, he is quite handsome," Fiona murmured, stealing covert looks whilst hiding behind her fan. "And that hair, why it is as black as midnight."
"As black as his heart more like" Penny muttered under her breath, wondering where Lucy and Lord Henry had disappeared to. She looked around but could not spot them at any of the refreshment tables. Rising, she adjusted her green shawl over her shoulders, smoothing out the creases in her simple evening dress and went in search of her sister.
She was accosted by Lady Rosebury just as she reached the door leading to the gardens. The girl appeared worried, despite the magnificent blue gown of the softest silk and that delicate to the Lady, Penelope felt drab and unseemly.
